Farmland Atlas · county record

Mahaska County, Iowa

Mahaska County, IA: non-irrigated cash rent $244 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,959 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 188.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 19123. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Mahaska County runs $244 per acre in 2026, up 13.5 percent from 2016. Land value in 2022 was $7,959 per acre, up 28.5 percent from 2017, 5.1 percent a year. Rent sits at 3 percent of land value. Wind operating stands at 168 MW; solar operating is 0 MW.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$244/ac
2026 county average
IA median $266 · tied for 24th lowest of 99
Land and buildings
$7,959/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
IA median $9,410 · 29th lowest of 99
Rent as % of land value
3%
$239 dry rent ÷ $7,959 land and buildings, both 2022
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
188.1 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 211.3
IA median 190.1 · 38th lowest of 95
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.30
2016–2025, closed crop years
IA median $2.49 · 5th lowest of 99
Farmland rented
40%
2022 census, rented from others
IA median 51% · 22nd lowest of 99

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$2502010201520202025$160$244 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$244/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+13.5%nominal, $215 to $244
Pasture, 2026$68/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$7,959/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,623/ac
Census 2017$6,193/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.5%+5.1% a year, nominal
Dry cropland rent ÷ census value, 20223%$239 ÷ $7,959; cropland 85% of land in farms

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024176.0222.9218.5median 188.1

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025188.1 bu/ac18 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025211.3 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 116.6 bu/ac62% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+3.7 bu/ac a year±1.9 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920240.642.500.151.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$1.30
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.20claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.54$107.8 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium4 of 34
Worst year2010ratio 2.50
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 48% · heat and drought 34% · price decline (revenue policies) 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202516230

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025175 of 1,357 weeks13% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201223 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202537 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.7 °F1991–2020 normal 64.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.01 °F a decadeno clear direction
Rain, April to September25.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 84% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.9 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 202256% of cropland146,088 ac
Farmed no-till, 202240% of cropland104,891 ac
Cover crops, 202210% of cropland27,120 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202123334,78521,743

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 202521,743 ac8.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20288,754 ac40% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$220/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 168 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202224,494−22.3% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202240%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Mahaska County$244$7,959188.1$1.30
Jasper County$264$8,750198.9$1.59
Keokuk County$236$7,382175.4$1.69
Marion County$230$7,647175.2$1.42
Monroe County$174$5,613162.3$5.10
Poweshiek County$278$8,752195.6$2.72
Wapello County$247$6,657164.9$2.79
Median next door$242$7,515175.3$2.21

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Mahaska County, Iowa. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/iowa/mahaska-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.

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